The first of seven games between the Dodgers and Padres in 11 days quickly devolved into chaos in the early going at Petco Park in San Diego. The Dodgers scored five runs in the first three innings but still trailed, because the Padres scored in each of the first three innings.
After three innings it was already 6-5, San Diego.
It was at best Dustin May’s second-worst start of the season, in contention with only the seven runs in five innings he allowed on April 22 at Wrigley Field, a similarly wild game that also needed 10 innings to decide.
May was already at 66 pitches through those three innings on Monday in San Diego, and his start took on two dual roles. First, he needed to settle things down in a still-competitive game, but also he needed to eat as many outs as possible to ease the burden of the busiest bullpen in baseball, on a team playing for the 11th day of 13 days in a row.
To that end, May accomplished both goals. He got through the heart of the order without incident in the fourth, then worked around a single and stolen base in the fifth. He finished five innings at 89 pitches in a tied game, despite giving up six runs. May has lasted at least five innings in all 12 of his starts this season, the only Dodgers starter with a clean record in that regard.
Monday was by no means a good start, but it was at least serviceable, which was much-needed given the tumult surrounding the rest of the pitching staff.
Starts like May fall into the “good bad start” category, making lemonade out of lemons, salvaging whatever you can out of an undesirable situation.
Tony Gonsolin had one of these on May 30 against the Yankees, allowing four home runs before recording an out in the third inning. But he settled down and somehow got through six innings and even got a win out of it as the Dodgers offense came back.
It doesn’t always work out like that Gonsolin start a week and a half ago. Justin Wrobleski last year had the disaster start in Phoenix, giving up eight runs in the second inning. He tied a Los Angeles Dodgers record by allowing 10 earned runs but also pitched into the sixth inning, at least taking some of the outs the bullpen didn’t have to get.
On Monday night, left-hander Anthony Banda followed May with two scoreless innings to get through the seventh. The left-hander matched his longest outing of the year, while pitching for the sixth time in the last 10 days. Kirby Yates (April 14-23) and Luis García (April 20-29) are the only other Dodgers to pitch six times in a 10-day stretch this season. Before Monday night, Banda in this stretch was also the first Dodgers pitcher to appear in five games over seven days.
“It wasn’t a pretty game, to be honest,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters at Petco Park, as shown on SportsNet LA. “But we found a way to win.”
Every little bit helps during a stretch of 13 days in a row (then another 10 straight days after Thursday’s off day) with Tuesday likely a (Matt Sauer-heavy) bullpen game and a Wednesday start by Wrobleski to end the road trip.